#ushl

for anyone new to it or wanting to understand how to keep up with their favorite prospects!

Streaming Info (for US): WHL (all games free on Victory+), OHL, QMJHL, USHL (all games on FloHockey with subscription) and certain games free on YouTube. Piracy is also a good option.

I omitted a lot of information about recruiting zones, the different drafts, tender agreements, and free agents because I felt like it would be overwhelming for an introductory primer but I encourage anyone who wants a deeper understanding on junior hockey to do their own research on that.

★ ☆ au background + timeline ★ ☆

they first meet in minnesota when they're at shattuck-st. mary's boarding school—mack for hockey and blaire for figure skating

she's a bit..put off by mack and his brother's sudden entrance to the school just for hockey at first. she knows what people say about hockey players and their cockiness, so she stays away until they begin having mutual friends and it's a bit of a forced proximity type of situation

blaire really thought wrong of mack because the two hit it off right away

they talk all night at the party, revealing their passions for their sports. blaire learns how dedicated mack and his brother are to hockey and she suddenly admires his determination to do better and be better because that's exactly how she is with figure skating

macklin's intrigued by her figure skating and immediately wants to see her skate

a few mornings after the party where they talked, mack goes to the rink early to get some playing time in when he runs into blaire already there with the same idea

she's on the ice and he's so captivated by the way she glides around

this pretty much sets off their relationship because mack starts going to the rink early everyday to see her spin around and eventually, he starts showing her some hockey moves

this is really new for mack because he's never had something like this before after dedicating his entire life to doing online school and then going to play hockey

it's always been hockey, hockey, hockey until meeting blaire where he just can't be away from her

he learns she's very shy and reserved, but it doesn't bother him because that just means someone is finally listening to everything he has to talk about

they start dating pretty quickly after that initial morning

it's literally perfect

they become each other's best friends and blaire quickly becomes someone mack can count on after only really having himself to count on since his parents divide their devotion between his other three siblings

she's more than happy to come to his games and watch him become even better—so good that he signs on with chicago steel after two seasons at st. mary's

what's even better is that blaire gets an offer to come to mcfetridge sports center in chicago to continue developing her figure skating career

the two couldn't be happier that they were taking on this new chapter together

blaire still made it out to all of mack's games and he came to her meets when they were in chicago together

it wasn't until college recruitment season came around and talk of going to play at a collegiate level that their relationship started changing after almost a year and a half of dating

mack was looking at schools in boston while blaire was getting offers on the west coast

the two quickly realized they were being pulled in two different directions—things were happening so fast and it was no doubt that both of them had grown a lot in their skills since meeting almost two years ago which is why so many different schools wanted them

they started realizing that maybe their relationship wouldn't be able to work on opposite ends of the country

mack never had any intention to breakup with her and was absolutely crushed when blaire told him they should go separate ways (running away is how she copes with hard situations)

she's never been good at showing emotion like that, so she closed herself up when mack tried convincing her they could make it work

ultimately, they broke up and went to school on separate coasts

mack was heartbroken

blaire tried acting like she didn't care and focused all of her energy into figure skating

they lost contact and stopped talking for almost two years until by some fate, macklin saw her in san jose

he was in disbelief that she was there and immediately attempted to reach back out to her

she was actually quite receptive to wanting to meet up, so they did when they got their contact information again

they easily fell back into place with one another like no time had passed

mack, who never stopped thinking about her, wanted her back

blaire wanted him back too, choosing to believe maybe it was a sign they belonged together after ending back up in the same city

→ blaire stevenson:

blaire morgan stevenson

older sister to carter stevenson and younger sister to mason stevenson, so she's a middle child

she's closer to her younger brother than her older brother

birthday is june 23rd, 2006!

she's boarded at shattuck-st. mary's since she was 12 and is 16 when she goes to chicago for mcfetridge for her last two years of school

she's loved figure skating since she could walk because she adored the girls who came on during the winter olympics and immediately wanted to be like them

obviously, she thinks hockey players are stuck up because she doesn't think very fondly of macklin when he first gets to shattuck

she's more reserved than her brothers and it takes awhile to really get to know her which makes sense as to why she didn't talk to macklin right away, but once you get her talking she talks like no other

her mom passed when she was little, so blaire dedicated a lot of her routines to her mom because her mom was the one who encouraged her to try out for her first competitive team

that's why there's a small rift between her and her brothers because they all remember their mom differently and are still grieving after so many years

figure skating acts as blaire's escape when she's in her head too much or feeling sad about her mom

it’s also why she shuts down and turns away in tense situations or when things start going bad because she taught herself to escape the bad feelings before they could truly hurt her (her mom dying was one she couldn’t escape, so she’s trying to get ahead of the hurt before it crumbles her like that again)

she loves that macklin doesn't care about her quietness and enjoys listening to him rant on about his day

joining a sorority wasn't something she thought she would do when she got to college but her freshmen roommate encouraged her when she rushed, so she followed along

she immediately fell in love with kappa delta and their values during rush

kd becomes another way for blaire to immerse herself in college life other than figure skating because she knows she needs to have a balance

santa clara university also becomes her "home away from one", especially when she reconciles with mack because he's so close by again

→ macklin celebrini

younger brother to aiden and older brother to rj and charlie which makes him a middle child too

he's very close with his brothers because they all look up to one another and support each other with everything they do

birthday is june 13th, 2006!

he's always had a love for hockey living in vancouver for awhile before moving to the states

his dedication shows especially when 2020 hit and him and aiden were consciously making an effort to continue playing and building their skills when nothing else was open

shattuck-st. mary's gave him and aiden a greater opportunity to really build their skills and macklin definitely flourished there

his outgoing nature is what gets him involved with blaire when they meet at school

he likes her perseverance and performance on the ice when he finally catches her one morning practicing by herself

he appreciates how closely she listens to him because he's never had something like that growing up—having a person he can call his and who’s consistently there for him

she becomes something else he can put his time and energy into besides hockey

the whole dating thing is fairly new to him because he didn't really have serious girlfriends until blaire

he's really serious about her

he admires her dedication to figure skating and feels lucky when he's one of the only people she begins sharing really vulnerable and intimate details about her life with him that she's never told anyone else

if anyone is a yapper, it's mack

he never stops talking ever

very much golden retriever energy like will

he teases will and samy nonstop until the script finally flips and they're the ones teasing him when him and blaire get back together

he loves will like a brother and loves samy like another sister

samy's someone mack starts going to for relationship advice in the beginning of his and blaire's new relationship because he doesn't wanna do anything wrong this time around

→ quick author's note:

...

Gaudreau was the USHL rookie of the year and helped Dubuque win the Clark Cup in 2010-11. The next season, he led NCAA freshmen with 44 points (21 goals, 23 assists) in 44 games, was most valuable player of the Beanpot tournament and helped Boston College win a national title.

...

Gaudreau led the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship in goals (seven in seven games) and helped the United States win gold, while leading the NCAA in points per game (1.45), helping Boston College win the Beanpot again and being named Hockey East player of the year as a sophomore.

He came back to Boston College for his junior year instead of going pro.

One of the main reasons: to play with Matthew.

Gaudreau won the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s top player after leading the nation in goals (36), assists (44) and points (80) in 40 games, and he signed with Calgary the same day, April 11, 2014. Two days later, he made his NHL debut and scored on his first shot.

...

Gaudreau never played a game in the minors. In 2014-15, he tied for the rookie lead with 64 points (24 goals, 40 assists) in 80 games and was a finalist for the Calder Trophy, which goes to the NHL rookie of the year. Two years later, he won the Lady Byng Trophy, which goes to the player voted to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship, gentlemanly conduct and playing ability. He had 61 points (18 goals, 43 assists) in 72 games with only four penalty minutes.

Two years after that, he finished fourth in the voting for the Hart Trophy, which goes to the NHL most valuable player.

And three years after that, he set NHL career highs in goals (40), assists (75) and points (115) in 82 games, tying for second in the NHL in scoring and earning another fourth place in the Hart voting. He scored from a bad angle in overtime of Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round against the Dallas Stars, sending the Flames to the second round for the first time in seven years

...

Gaudreau ranks fifth in Flames history in assists (399) and points (609).

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